


A Time for Us

by FireLadyMoon



Category: Doctor Strange (2016)
Genre: Ancient One gets love she deserves, F/F, Slow Build, Slow Romance, before Stephen Strange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25034767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireLadyMoon/pseuds/FireLadyMoon
Summary: Grandmaster. I've spent most of my youth working toward the title. In hindsight, my first two masteries were all too simply obtained. It stood to reason that the third one would be anything but. After two long years, I could finally glimpse the third. The masters warned me, of course, that this path was different. Yet I chose to follow it none the less. I did not know then, that this was the future my choices would select.
Relationships: Ancient One (Marvel) & Original Female Character(s), Ancient One (Marvel)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	A Time for Us

Finally they found something I might be interested in. I have been stuck on two ways for more than two years now, the grandmasters didn’t have any idea what would interest me, but now they were sending me to another monastery. A bit different than our own, but mystic and powerful none the less.

Finishing my studies back home I travelled to Kathmandu to look for Kamar-Taj. It is said that by finding the monastery on your own or at least a person who belongs to it is a sort of rite of passage. If it was so I would definitely give everything to find it. I did find Four fangs on my own, so this should really not be any different.

The streets were filled with people. Streets around me were littered with stands, merchants all of Nepal origin as far as I could deduce. They all had same darker skin tone, brownish with tints of red with women having a red dot or teardrop on their foreheads. Many women had their darker haired covered with cloth of vibrant colours. Men were either sitting on the side of the street smoking or trying to sell their merchandise to unsuspecting tourists.

It was easy to spot them they were all looking around, taking pictures and looked out of place in such a busy street. And it was a tiny busy street where to pass through you had to squish between people or push out of the way. There was no other way as the noise people were making all around was deafening. There was no way anyone could hear me ask them to move.

Looking around I tried to spot anything that would scream monastery at me. I knew there was no chance in hell there would be a sign Kamar –Taj this way, but nothing stood out. I had walked the whole of Kathmandu in the last four days trying to find them, but with little luck. I even asked the people about it, discreetly of course, but all they could lead me to was this market place. It was at least a start.

As I walked buying something to eat from the vendor I noticed a shadow out of the corner of my eye. It wasn’t unusual people were milling around, but there was something strange out that shadow. At first, it was there then it just disappeared. If the crowd had swallowed it I would probably think nothing of it, however, the shadow moved its hands and stepped forward and was gone.

Someone following me, using magic more advanced than mine. If they could vanish like that, with me barely noticing them... I had to be ready for anything.

I tried to find them again as I knew they were after me, after all, I am the only one currently asking about Kamar –Taj, a secretive place with magic users, this was not a simple coincidence. We played this game of cat and mouse for an hour I’d wager. I could feel them around me, my KI was telling me they were here somewhere. At one point my hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up, as if someone gently blew their breath across my neck. I tried not to jump I really did, but I never saw or felt anything like this. I watched everything around me, but nothing was amiss. People were still hanging around, I still had to push to get anywhere, but uneasiness was still following me.

Taking a few more steps trying to get out of this crowd to see who was following me, but as I stepped into the small clearing I could see a figure in a side ally covered from head to toe in black cloth. As the figure was in dark I could see any details about them, but I knew they were the one following me.

I took a few steps towards it my body at the ready for anything, if I needed to fight I would, I was not a meek girl, I had the training I was four fangs master, but the fact that this person could follow me undetected left me fearful.

As I approached the figure fully turned towards me. With the hood still up I had difficulty with guessing the gender, age, or anything of the sorts. On the other hand, I could clearly see their uniform now. It was black and I gathered this was the battle uniform. It had an intricate design with far too many layers and fold. There was a wide belt that held the inner part of the uniform together with a black overcoat finishing the touch.

“Hello. Can I help you?” I asked as politely as could, I didn’t want to cause a scene or get into the fight. I wanted them to teach me and if they could teach me to do what this person just did I would have been very grateful.

“No, but I could help you.” The person took down her hood as she spoke and if her voice had not been enough, now I could with certainty say that this was a woman. She was of Asian origins, somewhat shorter than me, with long black hair tied in a fishbone over her left shoulder. “You are looking for Kamar – Taj?”

“Indeed I am.” I replied still tense as I stared at the woman, the people around us moving slightly staring, but my companion was not bothered in the least. “How can I get to it?”

“Follow me.” She said and went past me. With ease, I turned on my heels and followed her through the crowd. Like Four fang’s they do indeed take everyone. This will definitely be a learning curve I would think.

A few times she turned to me to see if I was still following and each time she did it I moved just a bit closer to her until I was practically breathing at her neck. This might have been a stupid idea, but I wanted to tell her that I knew she had been following me and that I could do something similar. I wanted them to know I was not helpless.

This time moving through the crowd was much easier, it was as if people were moving out of the woman’s way. I glanced at the people and found that most of them did that unconsciously. It was then that I paid even more attention to her. She exuded power; this feeling was unmistakable, she was a great practitioner and not a woman to be trifled with.

Returning to the market, then she led me to a different part of it, one I had been to before. It was a smaller street a lot quieter with stands that were few and far between, men were mostly there, sitting talking, playing cards or doing a divination with bones.

“This way.” She said when she saw me observing the man who was doing the said divination. I turned to normal double wooden doors. They were made of slightly darker wood, a walnut, or perhaps western red cedar. The only reason I could guess that much was that I had been learning about botany last semester. I am sure I would soon forget it.

“You seem very down to earth about this. I am not sure Kamar – Taj is the right place for you, but the master is willing to hear anyone out. There is only one simple thing, forget everything you know and it will be easier.” The woman said leading me inside. The smell of incense drifted in my nose, it was an overpowering smell and yet at the same time calming. It was, to me unknown smell, there were cedar and lavender, but also something more, something I wasn’t sure I recognized.

The small corridor she led me through was a typical architecture for monasteries of spiritual places. It was small with little light shining through windows that had different motives on them. It was all made out of stone, simply decorated. The wall on each side went a diagonally towards the middle of the roof, but in no way hindered or dwarfed the corridor one passed through.

People passed us, students I presumed and how they regarded my companion I would say she was a teacher or a master here, with the power I felt from her I would not be surprised. I was led into a room, with a few tables where two older gentlemen were reading, a young woman was busy cleaning a table and getting the tea. The woman led me inside.

“This is the sanctuary of our teacher, the ancient one. Please go in.” I nodded to her in thanks and stepped in. The two elders looked up nodded at me and continued to read, bowing politely in return I waited for someone to speak to me.

Two young people, no more than 20 years of age, came next to me motioning for me to give them my backpack and the jacket. Shrugging the items of myself I politely thanked them for it. The two smiled and bowed back to me and scurried down the hall probably to store my items.

I could feel the power buzzing in this room, they were all more or less of equal strength, the two gentlemen towered in comparison over the youngsters that took my things, but what my Grandmaster called Sorcerer Supreme was not here.

Then a woman came, I barely registered her entrance. She was silent as the wind almost one with the air which was hard even for a master of four elements to do. I watched her silently as she poured the tea in two cups, one handing to me.

“Thank you.” I have a small bow of my head before turning my gaze once again to her. Her presence was deafening, but it was not oppressive. There was no doubt in my mind that she was the strongest person in the room, it was easily felt.

“You kept silent until I handed you the tea.” She said as she sipped her own. I glanced at the rest of the people who all got up. “Thank you Masters Shae, Hamir.”

“It is considered impolite to speak before the elders and yet I have been always thought to thank my host for their generosity,” I replied looking back at the woman. I tried to take in her physical appearance, tall, bald, in reality, she was really plain. But her spiritual appearance was something that I never felt before. I have stood near 1st grandmaster but this is on completely another level. I apprised more of her. She was dressed in a white garment, simple linen pants, with a two-layered shirt and overshirt that had two long parts in the middle of it falling down to her knees.  
“Both are true as you say.” The woman smiled.  
“This is the Ancient one, our master.” The woman who brought me here introduced the Sorcerer Supreme to me. Ancient one? Didn’t she have a name?  
“Tell me, why you are here?” The Ancient one asked as she sat on the low table that was before us.  
“To find myself. I was told to come here if I wished to learn more.” I replied and she offered me a seat opposite her. The woman who had brought me here sat right of the Sorcerer supreme watching me.

“So you find yourself through learning. A student of science I would say, facts and truth is what interests you, is it not?” The woman had not wavered so sure she was right, she took another sip and I followed the suit. The tea was delicious, apple, orange, lemon, and a few other ingredients I could not find in my pallet. Smelling the after trying it reminded me of a huge field that I used to practice my elemental way back in Four fangs. Swallowing the memory with the sip of the tea I looked at the Sorcerer supreme answering her question.

“You are right. I am a student of science I do like facts and truth is always nice.” I acknowledged it, but I was more open to the possibilities than most of my peers. After all, I have seen and done, how could I not be. There is more to this world than we know it, even more than we dream. Science can show us so much, but in the end, it could never truly show us everything.

“What would you do if I said your science is wrong?” The woman asked, science wrong? Of course, it can be. It had been before and many things are wrong still. There was only one way to answer that question.

“I’d say prove it.” Because that was all science was, if something didn’t add up, you find something that does. You break older laws to make new ones that make more sense, sometimes the science doesn’t make sense and it is still correct. The way how one thinks changes when you are thrown in this world. The woman slightly leaned her head as she regarded me and then she got up. She returned with a book and opened it to me.

“8 gates of chakra.” I said looking at her. The next picture was acupunctures, next to it was an EMR scan. “You forgot KI points,” I said sipping the tea as she closed the book.

“You laugh at us and yet you came here?” The woman who brought me here finally spoke again, however, she completely missed my point.  
“I don’t believe I laughed. I simply pointed out that the master forgot a key spiritual point. If she is to show me mysticism and spiritualism I believe KI points are in the same category even if they are more physical than mystical.”  
Before the woman could say anything else and it was apparent that she wanted to the sorcerer supreme intertwined.  
“She is correct. But as you said KI points are slightly out of our domain of studies. You are quite versed in these matters.” Was she impressed or surprised? There was no way to tell, she would make a great poker player.

“Still didn’t prove to me my science is wrong.” I said trying to see how long we could stretch this out. Was this a test? I never got any information from my masters back in Four fangs about this place and it irked me. Knowing what one is actually getting into was a precious commodity these days and I wanted it. Yet the masters stayed silent, there was nothing else to do than move forward.

“I didn’t?” She sounded surprised and I simply shook my head. My science was still going strong. Then she started moving her hands in the air. Her hands were so captivating, so elegant, fluid, watching her do this day in day out and I would not be bored. It was because as she moved her hands, snapped her fingers she created orange sparks, lines, diagrams. This was when I knew she was making a spell, but what kind? The answer came in a light breeze that blew my hair all over the place.

“That was wicked.” I grinned as my eyes found the two masters again, “Will you teach me?”

“Only after you answer my question, have I proved your science wrong now?” Ancient one asked.

“Not at all, Ancient one. You have shown me another dimension of science another branch. Everything is explainable, but sometimes only to one’s self. Magic,” I said waving in the air where the orange drawing had been, “is just another way to manipulate particles and matter. Science has been wrong before and is most assuredly now. But that is why I love learning. What you have shown me just allows me to better understand the world around me.”

“Interesting way of thinking. Come, thank you Master Minoru I will take it from here.” Ancient one said and got up, swiftly I raised to my feet and followed her remaining quiet as we walked.  
This place was very similar to the monastery I had stayed before. Everything was made out of stone or wood, very little was done with any kind of cement. The stone was dark in colour, but I could see it did not start that way, it was that way due to its age and new ways of transport. However, the whole place was very well taken care of. There were a few interesting murals on the columns that divided corridors from the smaller courtyards, that housed a few smaller but beautiful trees and bushes of roses.

While simplistic and in a way barren this place or what I had seen of it was striking. The sheer power that was this place, the centuries that it withstood was worth every ounce of respect from us.  
“We have had many people asking for help,” Ancient one suddenly started talking, turning to her rather than to appraise my surroundings more I saw her moving slowly forward, her hands held a simple wooden fan that I had not noticed before. Wherever had she taken it? “to heal them, to bring them to the right path.”

I realized what she was trying to say, I was neither. All I wanted was to learn and find out more. While I could not even try to guess what she was thinking I had a feeling she didn’t mind me actually not being broken. As hard to read as she was I was lucky to even understand that she was fine with me being here.

“Here you will learn what lies within you. You want to find yourself; we will help you to see the answer.” I thought about what she said, what lies within me? The reason I went down the path of Four Fangs was a simple and selfish one, perhaps I can finally find myself here. I tried to look at the Ancient one’s face but no matter how I tried to lean, her eyes were almost always straight forward, and yet I felt like she was intently watching me.

“I do appreciate it.” I said politely. There was nothing else to do or say, but I wondered what now as she led us to a courtyard that was at least five times bigger than the last one we’ve passed. here were dozens of students waving their hands in the air, they were going through drills, movements and all of them were trying to make some kind of spell. None of them succeeded, however, there were some who managed to do a few sparks, some made a circle with their hands but nothing more. This was what was waiting for me. Practice my old friend.

“What spell are they trying to do?” I asked curiously as I traced their movements and the man who was correcting their stands.

“To make the air move.” Ancient one replied as she came to a stop letting me observe the students and their teacher.

“You made the breeze when you were showing me magic. The movements are different, yours were... more fluid more complicated.” I said noticing major differences between the spells.

“Very well noticed. Why do you think that is?” A test or a lesson? I was not sure but either way I answered.

“Well I have to possible things that could be since I don’t know a thing about spells. One, your spells were more powerful and with that more complicated in terms of spell casting. Two each of us has their own way to cast spells after we learn the initial spell.” I said and turned to the Ancient One to see her reaction.

“Both are true.” Another person joined us all of a sudden making me jump a bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ancient one give a small smile at my reaction as if she was expecting it to happen. Turning fully away from the woman I gave my full attention to the man in front of me.

He was tall and dressed similarly to the woman who had brought me here, however, his garments were green and with one layer less. He was black and had a smile that was between impressed and stoic. 

“As one learns they learn from the basics, once they mastered the spell many sorcerers tend to make spells their own. To better them or simply suit them to their needs. Spells are like living things, they evolve.”

“Meaning the stronger the sorcerer the better spells they can conjure and invent. But strength can’t be the only thing can it? You have to have the creativity to think of something like that, and then the know-how not to blow yourself. I would sooner say they are a program rather than a living thing.” I replied interested in this debate before I realized I have spoken out of turn. I was just starting and these people were far more advanced than I was. Dread filled me as I suddenly snapped my mouth shut afraid to say anything else.

“A program, yes, you are right. Program to shape the universe a wonderful analogy. I might use it in the future.” Ancient one said as she smiled down at me. “Master Mordo this our new recruit. Alex Carter Master Minoru found her wondering the market place.”

“Baron Mordo, a pleasure to meet you.” He said putting his hand out. No hesitation I took his hand giving him a small bow.

“Alex Carter." I said glancing at Ancient one wondering how in the hell had she known my name even before I told her. I was sure Four Fangs monastery did not contact her, at least they said they wouldn’t and they are people of their word.

“Master Mordo would you be so kind as to take Miss Carter to her room. She should rest before her training truly begins.” ancient one said before she left without another word. I looked after her for a minute or so before Master Mordo touched my elbow.

“This way.” And started walking. “Kamar – Taj is a safe place to learn and to grow. Your day will begin at 7 AM. Classes start at 8.” He walked forward turning left and right passing by some classrooms, or reading rooms. I could not properly see, but I did glimpse tables and books scattered all around. I committed the route to my memory as best as I could hoping that I would not get lost.

“What kind of classes?” I really wondered about this, were there magical theory classes, or perhaps how to make your own spell.

“We do not have traditional classes that most people are used to. We masters teach what we deem you need. For example, spell casting. You will learn the mechanic of drawing the power from the multiverse, but books can take you only so far, this is why we mostly have practice. That is the way to do at Kamar – Taj. Meditation, getting in touch with your spiritual self is also one of the many things you should do.”

“Right, makes sense. Well, can’t wait to get started actually.” I smiled feeling all giddy and shaking from excitement. I might have been a bit sceptical when the call came, but now I knew this path was for me. This was why nothing else worked.

“Glad to hear that. This is your room, it has a bed, desk, and lamp. Here take this.” He said as he gave me a small piece of paper one word written on it. Shambala. Uh, ok? I blinked and then looked back at the man.

“A secret password?” I asked raising the paper a bit.

“No, a wifi password. We do have one you know.” I made an oh face and nodded, that kind of makes sense.

“Thanks this will come in handy see you tomorrow,” I said and the man closed the doors to my room. I looked around it was the man said, a single bed, with white linen sheets right across the doors. Floors were wooden, wore down by the time, and probably many students that have stayed here before me. There was one window that looked on the smaller courtyard inside the monastery. Luckily I did not face the street, I did like to have my own peace and quiet. There as well as the old worn out table with a lamp and a few outlets for the electronics.

In the corner between the bed and the wall were my things. The jacket was put on the headrest of the bed while the backpack was let down on the floor. The room was pretty small so it only took me three steps to reach my things.

It was a mess in there as I always just cram the stuff inside. Getting out of my usual clothes and my training uniform from four fangs I found my phone and my laptop. They were both dead because I left them like that. My parents wouldn’t stop calling me since I told them I anded and was safe, always the same story. Getting them to charge I knew I had to face the music sooner or later. Tomorrow would be a perfect day for that. With that I took my pyjamas out, rest I shoved into a small dresser.

Meditation first, then sleep. Sitting down on the floor I took my meditation position cross-legged slightly hunched and let myself be taken into my spirit world as I called it. I let my new experiences wash me trough trying to make heads or tails with them. This was only the start I knew this, a hard start, but I would do this. I wanted this more than anything, another adventure of learning and broadening my horizons. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to being.


End file.
